Glass-tube cutter



Jan; 29, 1924.

L. L. TULEY GLASS TUBE CUTTER Filed Feb. '20, 1923 Patented Jan. 29, 1924.

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LEROY L. 'IULEY, OF WOOD RIVER, ILLINOIS.

GLASS-TUBE CUTTER.

Application filed February '20, 1923. Serial No. 620,154.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, LEROY L. TULEY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of Wood River, county of Madison, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Glass-Tube Cutters, of which the following is a specification.

In the use of glass tubing in chemical laboratories and for glass gauges for steam boilers, oil stills and the like, there is a large percentage of waste dueto-breakage in cutting the desired lengths. .The requisite length of tubing for any particular purpose is ordinarily obtained from the stock lengths by creasing with a file and breaking near the crease. This method is unsatisfactory, the crease is irregular, the edges are likewise rou'gh and irregular and generally the portion removed is destroyed and not 1nfrequently it 'is' necessary to cut one or two stock lengths before a piece of tubing of the desired length is obtained.

The'object of the invention is to produce a glass cutte particularly adapted to the cutting of tubes, reducing or eliminating the high percentage of loss' now prevailing. The ap licants device which has proved exceeding y successful'in this capacity consists of a pair of pliers having one jaw adapted to engage the outer surface of the tube and the other jaw provided with a cutter which may be of the wheel typevor a diamond -point. 4

As shown the pliers ortongs have two points of engagement on one jaw spaced apart and opposed to the cutter so that when the cutter is in operation the tube is engaged 'by thetwo abutments and the cutter at three points approximatelv 120 apart- This is, however, only the prefered arrangement which may be considerably varied within the scope of my invention.

The pliers are preferably adjustable after the manner pf the common. type of automobile pliers and the engaging points opposite the cutter may to advantage be cushioned to prevent vibration and consequent breakage. In operation the tube is engaged by the pliers and a moderate amount of pressure applied, the pliers being rotated or oscillated about the tube until it is creased by the cutter to the desired depth when the pliers are disengaged and the tube is broken 'on the crease without difliculty and with a comparatively insignificant percentage of loss.

1 In accompanyin drawings I have illustrated a cutter em odying my invention in the preferred form, the same being shown in conjunction with a section of the tubing being operated upon. In the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevation of a cutter embodying my invention showing the tube engaged thereby, the tube appearing in end elevation;

Figure 2 shows the cutter and tube, being taken from the left of the cutter as seen in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3.3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view of the jaw portion of a cutter, the construction bein slightly modified.

Iteferring to the-drawings by numerals the device as shown 'consistsvof a pair of pliers or tongs which may to advantage be constructed after the manner of the ordinary type of automobile pliers now in use, the pliers being indicated by reference character 1 and being pivotally connected by a pin or bolt 2 which is fixedly secured in one aw member 3 and passed through a slot 4 in the othe jaw member 5, the slot preferably being enlarged at the ends 66 and reduced intermediately at 7 the pin 2 being flattened so that in a certain relative position of the jaws the pin may be passed from one to the other end of the slot to give the desired adjustment.

As shown the jaw 5 has a concave .jaw surface 8 to admit and enclose the tube, the jaw surface being provided with tube engaging abutments 9-9 preferably spaced apart as shown and the other jaw member 3 e is provided intermediately of its j aw surface 10 with a cutter 11 which as shown is oppositev a point intermediate the abutments. These abutments 9 are preferably of comparatively soft material as leather and are lntended to have a sliding engagement with the outer surface of the tube moving relatively thereto in the directionof the'circumference. As'shown they are of sole leatherglued or wedged in slots 15.

In the operation of the tool the tubing is grasped by the cutter as illustrated in "Figure 1, the plane of oscillation of the jaws be ing at right angles to the length of the tube, moderate pressure is' applied by gripping and extent thereof are controlled and the about the tube whereby the tubing is scored by the cutter. Preferably it is encircled by a circumferential score. When the score reaches the desired depth the cutter is disengaged and the tube is broken along the line of the score.

It will be apparent that by and in the operation of the cutter the application of undue and unequal stress to the tube in cutting'isavoided and the direction of the score latte is made uniform greatly decreasing the tendency to shatter the tube in cutting. Bythe use of the soft or cushion abutments 9 instead of rigid metal ones, vibration is eliminated and the breakage still further reduced;

In Figure 4 I have illustrated fragmentarily a cutter in the form of plier as described, the configuration of the cutter jaw 10 being changed to the effect that it is of a concave form as at 13, the cutter 11 being centrally placed of the concavely curved aw The lower jaw 14 is similar to the lower jaw 8 but-less sharply concave. Itis obvious that the structure may be considerably varied.

I have thus described specifically and in detail a glass tube cutter embodyin my invention in the preferred form. This structure has been specifically described in order that the nature and operation of the same may be clearly understood, however, the specific terms herein are used descriptively rather than in a limiting sense the scope of the invention being defined in the claim.

, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A glass tube cutter consistin of -a pair of jaw members, means adjustabl y and ,pivot: ally connecting the jaw members, a glass cutter on one said jaw member and spaced, yielding abutments on the other jaw member. 7

Signed by me at WVood River, Illinois, this 12th day of Feb., 1923.

j LEROY L. TULEY; Witnesses: J. WV. BICKNELL, ROY MCMiIiLEN. 

